Change of Pace
by assimilates
Summary: After trying to stop Combustion Man, Zuko leaves the Western Air Temple, making the Avatar and his friends think he died in his attempt to save them... Spoilers for 3.12 and episodes beyond it. Zutara.
1. Always Stays the Same

**" CHANGE OF PACE "**

_01. CHAPTER ONE: "ALWAYS STAYS THE SAME"_

He wondered if they expected him to come back, or if they were simply glad that he was gone; if they thought him dead and were saddened by it, or were relieved that they would no longer have to put up with any of his lies and deception. But, it hadn't been a trick. He had been _sincere_, but apparently sincerity was ignored in the face of the brutality done by him in months before that day. That was the day that he'd made himself an outcast...to everyone.

Once upon a time, he was the proud prince of the Fire Nation, a brave boy standing up to his father, a child injured and scarred for reasons his young mind could not comprehend, a determined teenager on a quest for the elusive Avatar, a hero welcomed back home, a traitor, a coward, a failure...nothing.

With a sigh, Zuko slumped down further against the rock he leaned upon, tossing another pebble into the stream. Looking left, then right, Zuko wiggled his still-outstretched hand a bit, as if he expected the water or the pebble to do something in response. When nothing happened, he dropped his hand back into his lap and gave a shrug.

"Still just a firebender," he commented.

The badger-frog sitting atop the rock he leaned against, who had seemingly become his new travelling companion - the blasted thing would _not_ quit following him - croaked in response, as if it fully understood what Zuko had just said. The firebender looked up at it, receiving another croak, then looked back down, shaking his head.

"This cannot get any worse," he mused then and as if on cue, rain began to lightly fall from the sky.

At that, the former prince let his shoulder sag and drew up one knee, resting an arm that he pressed his forehead against upon it, letting the water the fell from the clouds wash over him. He sat there in silence for a while, not caring much about his now-soaked clothes, until the sound of the badge-frog emitting a high-pitched croak drew him out of his thoughts.

Looking up, he peered through the rain at the badger-frog, which was no longer facing him and was crouched in a position that looked like it was about to jump at something. Curious, Zuko turned and got on his knees, stretching up quietly behind the badger-frog to see--

He ducked quickly, just as an arrow went flying by above him, narrowly missing his hair _and_ the badger-frog. Immediately, he jumped to his feet, whirling around to pluck the irate badger-frog off the rock and tucked it under his arm protectively. Glaring angry daggers at the attacker, Zuko drew back the fist of his other arm, bending fire around it that was sizzling in the water that fell from above, ready to attack...when he caught sight just _who_ it was through the rain.

The waterbender, the Avatar's friend. ...Katara, that was her name, wasn't it?

Though she seemed unaffected by the rain, she held the bow and arrow clumsily in her hands, proving that just because one was good with bending, did not mean that they automatically mastered weaponry. He watched as she lined up another arrow from the quiver at her back, taking aim and ready to fire again, when she seemed to have noticed _him_ holding her prey.

"What--" she started, the cut herself off, blue eyes going wide at the sight of the drenched firebender before her. That shock only lasted for a moment though, as those eyes soon narrowed and her lips pressed together in a thin, angry line.

Zuko frowned, a wave of guilt washing over him.

He shouldn't have left like that, but he had. Perhaps he should've persisted further, maybe they would've accepted him after he'd tried to stop Haretsu, the man Sokka had apparently deemed 'Combustion Man,' from killing them all, but he had felt so..._defeated_ after the initial rejection, that he hadn't the energy to go back to them, only to get attacked again.

Attacked by the waterbender. Who was standing before him with an arrow pointed in his direction.

"That's our food you're holding," she stated sternly, eyes focusing on the badger-frog, before homing in on the firebender's face once more.

"That's my _friend_ you're trying to eat," he countered, his grip on the badger-frog tightening slightly.

The waterbender rolled her blue eyes. "Oh, if that's so, what's his_ name_?"

"Kawa," fell out of the young man's mouth before he had time to properly contemplate an answer. "His name is Kawa," he pulled the badger-frog out from under his arm, holding it up with both hands and smiling almost fondly at it, "and he's an awfully good listener."

She was silent for a moment, staring at both him and the newly-dubbed Kawa, before she finally lowered the bow so that the arrow was now pointed at the ground instead of the prince. She looked down as well, before snapping her head up abruptly to inform him: "You_ always_ stay the _same_."

This, took Zuko by surprise. How was him calling a badger-frog a friend mean he was the same?

"I...I don't understand," he said cautiously, setting Kawa down on the ground by his feat when he fidgeted in his grasp, straightening up to focus back on Katara.

"You do one thing and make us believe another," she clarified, though the former prince still didn't see her meaning.

"What do--"

She cut him off, "You made us think Combustion Man killed you. But, here you are...alive and well, with a new _friend_ nonetheless. To think that Aang was actually feeling _guilty_ about you _dying_ trying to save us. But that was just another trick, wasn't it,_ Prince_ Zuko?"

Squaring his shoulders, Zuko did his best to bite back his temper, trying to be calm while explaining himself, as his uncle often suggested he do. "You told me to go, so when I climbed back up that tree root and saw that you'd killed Haretsu--uh, _Combustion Man_, I...left. I'm sorry if it seemed that I deceived you in that act, but I honestly felt as if my presence and my offer were unwanted, and frankly, I'm _still_ getting that impression...from you, at least."

Katara seemed to tilt her head slightly to the side in idle curiosity, but the scowl did not vanish from her face - nor did her grip on the bow and arrow, even if the tip was pointed at the soil and not the firebender before her.

Zuko took a step back, one foot further behind the other, and bent down, eyes to the ground and arms spread out in an almost welcoming gesture. "If you want to attack me again, fine. Go ahead and get it over with. Agni knows I deserve it after all that I've put you and your friends through, and...I'm tired of fighting you--you, the Avatar...just, this needs to _stop_."

He closed his eyes, ready to feel himself slamming into the river to be washed downstream, wondering if it was even possible for him to be any wetter than he already was with the rain that was now falling steadily from the sky, when...nothing happened. Slowly, he looked up to find her starring almost...solemnly at him.

When she caught his golden gaze, however, her blue eyes narrowed once more and she turned on her heel to start walking away from him.

"_Don't_ follow me," she warned, her back to him. "Just...stay here with your _friend_."

And with that, she was gone, disappearing back into the foliage. He was tempted to follow her, to grab her and shout at her, try to get her to understand...but he knew that would only make this complex situation worse. The last thing he wanted was to make the Avatar and his friends even more cross with him.

Falling to his knees, Zuko balled his fists in the mud, making a frustrated sound in the back of his throat...which was immediately echoed by a much softer noise from Kawa.

The firebender looked to the badger-frog, with an expression that could've been the starting of a smile upon his lips, reaching out hesitantly with one hand to lightly stroke the top of Kawa's head.

"Y'know," he told it, "if we were to find a princess to kiss you, I bet all the gold and jewels in my father's treasury that you'd be a far better prince than I ever was or ever could be. Of course, the only princess I know is my sister, and I'd never subject you to something that cruel. A kiss from Azula would probably turn you into some sort of deformed monster."

He smiled at that, lightly chuckling at his own joke, before his words sunk in.

_...deformed monster..._

Frowning then, Zuko pulled his hand away from Kawa, sitting back on his heels to touch his fingers to his scar. "Just like me..."

Little did the former prince know that as he closed his eyes and tilted his head up to let the summer rain gently beat down upon his face, a pair of blue eyes from the forest watched him, frowning and shaking her head before she left the area completely.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_"Avatar: the Last Airbender" is © Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Haretsu is __**not**__ Combustion Man's name, but merely one made up for use in this fic/chapter. Also, this fic is being written for the 30 KISSES challenge community on InsaneJournal, so the chapters follow the themes listed in their userinfo's alternate column._

12/26/2007


	2. Tumbling Through the Orchard Trees

**" CHANGE OF PACE "**

_02. CHAPTER TWO: "TUMBLING THROUGH THE ORCHARD TREES"_

Zuko waited a day or so after his encounter with the waterbender to approach the Western Air Temple again, frowning in dismay at the sight of the damage the assassin he'd sent after them had done to the once great airbending city. He'd spent part of his recovery there after his father had burned him. As soon as he'd been deemed well enough to leave the palace infirmary, he'd been promptly banished and cast aside, despite the fact that his wound was not yet healed. Just because he could stand the pain didn't mean it was _gone_.

If things kept going this way, the Avatar would never know just how special this place was to him, even if he had loathed it. His uncle had just taken him under his wing - something he should've been grateful for, but wasn't - and brought him here to heal. Oh, how he'd hated it. He'd stomped around like the arrogant little prince he'd been, complaining night and day about being in a place that was once populated by airbenders, about being banished, about needing to go out and find the Avatar, not caring that he wasn't completely healed.

He knew he'd been a fool at that age and that he'd been basking in the sort of immaturity he'd began to his uncle since those days until just a little while ago. It took a lot for him, someone who was bred into a nation of proud warriors, to overlook his pride in order to accept the truth and reality of his life. Of his non-existent relationship with his father. Ozai had never loved him. Never.

_Dad's going to kill you. Really, he is..._

And he would have, if not for his mother...who might still be _alive_, if his father were speaking the truth. Part of him wanted to forget about getting the Avatar to trust him and go seek out his mother, but he couldn't do that. No, not after what he'd said to Ozai and proclaimed he would do. He said that he'd join the Avatar and he was going to do that, no matter _what_ it took.

For once in his life, he was going to set his mind to something and see it through to the end.

...besides, the words spoken by his father that day could've very well been lies. One could never tell with the Fire Lord. If Ursa was alive, Zuko would find her once his destiny here was completed. And she would be proud of him.

Zuko sat in one of the trees in orchard that within a room that was hidden towards the back of the temple. He was simply amazed at the complex, yet simply design of it all - how the sunlight filtered in through small vents that were hidden by dense bushes on the surface, how the rich soil at these depths kept the trees thriving...how trees could even survive down here at all!

He'd been admiring one of the vents from his perch when a door swung open and light from the adjoining hall filtered in, illuminating parts of the room that weren't being lit up by the sunlight coming in through the vents above. Zuko scooted back further onto the branch, biting back the groan that threatened to sound from his throat upon seeing that it was _her_.

The spirits must have some sort of personal vendetta against him if they kept sending the waterbender his way. He was hoping the Avatar or the blind earthbender would wander in here, thinking that he'd be able to get through to one of the two if the others weren't around - if _she_ wasn't around - but that didn't seem to be the case.

Things were never that easy, especially where the former prince of the Fire Nation was concerned.

She stepped closer, swinging a basket that she held in hands from one side to the other, looking almost...happy. He'd never seen the waterbender so carefree before. Every time he'd come across her she was either serious, determined, or downright pissed. Seeing her without those sour emotions contorting her face into unpleasant expressions was _different_, to say the least.

It was then that he noticed she was clothed in something white and rather revealing, being that it showed off her shoulders and stomach, along with exposing one leg. The leaves of the branch he peered through blocked his view for the most part, but squinting at her, he could tell that she was also _wet_.

She had just bathed.

Gulping, Zuko turned his head away, not wanting to be rude by staring at her. Not that she knew he was there, but still - he _was_ a gentleman, after all, and it was _not_ polite to stare...no matter how good the view was.

He leaned back, pressing his backside against the trunk, when he heard a_crack._

Katara must've heard it too, for he could see her head snap up and look around for the source of the noise.

_Please don't break_, he chanted in his head, closing his eyes and hoping to Agni and all the great Spirits above that the branch he sat on was not about to give way. _Please don't break, please don't break, please don't break..._

Unfortunately for Zuko, the Spirits did not seem to be in the mood to listen to his pleas, for soon the branch underneath him snapped, sending him crashing to the floor--and he would've impacted with it, if not for the fact that somehow he'd ended up against the trunk, encased in ice, with the angry face of the waterbender mere inches away from his own.

"Just_what_ do you think you are doing?" She demanded. "I told you_not_ to follow me!"

"I wasn't following you," he answered truthfully. "I was waiting for the Avatar or the earthbender."

Katara's eyes narrowed, her face taking on that scowl that had become all too familiar to the firebender. "What makes you think I'll believe you?"

"I don't expect _you_ to. I've given up hope of ever getting you to understand what I'm trying to say or do and have just accepted the fact that you'll forever hate me for the things I've done to you; forever not trust any word I say or action I do. I can't say that I blame you for it and I'm not going to do anything to change that. _You_ can hate me all you want, that's fine. I'm not trying to help you - I'm trying to help the Avatar."

At that, she backed down some, releasing the hold she had on him with her bending as the ice melted away from him, letting him move away from the tree. She narrowed her eyes at him and stretched upwards onto her toes, plucking a few apples from the trees above and setting them down in the basket she'd been carrying earlier.

Zuko watched her for a moment, bending down to pick up a bright red apple that had fallen from the tree when the branch he'd been perched on gave out, rubbing it against his sleeve to make it shine. Moving over to her, he brought the apple up to his lips and kissed its smooth surface before dropping it into her basket.

She watched him do this and looked up at him curiously. "Why'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Kiss the apple."

He shrugged, having not realized he'd done that. It was force of habit, he supposed. "My mother used to do it when I was younger and I--"

"--mimicked her," she finished. "I see." She pursed her lips together and turned away from him, plucking a few more apples from the tree and depositing them in the basket. Once she had enough, she pulled the now-heavy basket into her arms.

Zuko bit back a chuckle as he watched her try to walk away awkwardly with it held out before her, bumping against her knees, and went to her, lifting the basket out of her hands with ease.

Katara glowered up at him, opening her mouth as if to protest, but for once, held her tongue. Sticking her nose in the air she brushed past him, motioning with one hand for him to follow her.

He obeyed and finally set the basket down when they came to the fountain, setting the basket down near her feet.

She glanced down at it, then up at him, not even bothering to utter a thank you before stating: "You should go. They'll be back soon."

The former prince's face contorted in confusion. "But I thought--"

"You thought wrong." She held up an arm, pointing up to the ground that rested above the temple. "Go."

Oh, how he wanted to scream at her, to push her down and tell her she was being harsh and unfair, but he _couldn't_. He'd just stated earlier how he'd come to accept her hatred of him, how he wasn't going to try and change her opinion and would _not_ justify her reasoning further by going back against all he'd said.

So, with a sigh and a shake of his head, muttered, "If you wish," and turned on his heel, heading away from the temple, still unaware of the blue eyes that watched him curiously as he obeyed her command.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_"Avatar: the Last Airbender" is © Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. This fic is being written for the 30 KISSES challenge community on InsaneJournal, so the chapters follow the themes listed in their userinfo's alternate column._

12/28/2007


	3. Push Me, Pull You

**" CHANGE OF PACE "**

_03. CHAPTER THREE: "PUSH-ME-PULL-YOU"_

The former prince of the Fire Nation awoke that morning to the sound of something metal being dropped upon the ground with a resonating metallic thud. He held back from his usual response to such a disturbance - firebending in the direction of the sound - being that the last time he'd done that, he'd ruined his chances at gaining an ally within the Avatar's group by burning the earthbender's feet. He hadn't meant to hurt her, of course, it was just instinct, a reflex.

His golden eyes opened and he sat up, one hand reaching for his a sword as he rolled onto his knees, ready to emerge from his shelter to attack whoever had approached him--only to come face-to-face with an angry waterbender. Arms crossed over her chest as she glared upon him with those intense blue eyes of hers.

"I thought I told you to leave," she spat.

Zuko suppressed a groan. _This again._ She was like a bad case of chicken-pig pox that wouldn't go away.

"You did and I did," he said sleepily, stifling a yawn as he set the sword he'd grasped hold of aside, despite the strong urge he had to place the sharp, pointy end between those pretty eyes of hers. No, he wouldn't attack her. He wasn't here to do that. Unfortunately, she'd never see that.

She brandished a soup ladle at him, wagging it threateningly like the cooks at the palace used to do when he and Azula would sneak into the kitchens to catch a glimpse of the meals that were being prepared. The sight would've been amusing if not for the scowl that was permanently etched into her features whenever he was around.

"No, you didn't. You're still in the area. Now leave before they see you." Katara pointed behind her with the ladle to emphasize her point.

Zuko fell back against his pillow, bringing one arm up to toss over his eyes to block out both the rays of sunlight that crept through the trees and the sight of her standing over him. "No."

He heard her scoff in surprise. "_Excuse _me?"

"I said, _no_."

She was silent for a few minutes and for a moment, he thought she'd left, when he felt her boot connect with his left leg. Groaning in protest, Zuko sat up, now fully awake and biting back the flames that formed in his throat, pushing a cloud of smoke through his clenched teeth instead.

"What the hell is your problem, waterbender?"

Not Katara. Yes, he knew her name. He paid attention when the Avatar and his friends addressed her. But right now, he was in no mood to call her by her name. If she had a proper title, he would've called her that. For now, her bending-type would do.

"_You_," she said, looking at him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Beyond that," he said, standing and crossing his arms over his chest. "Despite what you may think, I'm not an idiot. I see and hear a lot more than you realize, and it's not just _me_ that's bothering you. You're just using me. You're taking _all_ of your frustration out on me, whether or not it's my doing."

It was ironic, in a sad sort of way. Being used. Again. Azula used him, Mai had used him, his father had used him - even his grandfather, Azulon, had used him in a failed attempt at getting Ozai to feel some sort of remorse for his elder sibling when Lu-Ten had died. People_ always_ used him, as if he were a marionette whose strings were passed from puppeteer to puppeteer as needed.

Katara seemed almost...hurt by what he'd said, her expression still angry, yet teetering on the edge of sadness. "I'm not using you."

The firebender let out an almost amused sigh and sat back down, knees bent with his arms draped across them. "Stop fooling yourself, waterbender."

"I_ don't_ use people," she said firmly. "I'm not like _you_."

Zuko wasn't sure how it happened, but he found himself pinning Katara to the nearest tree with one hand clasped to her shoulder and his other hand drawn back in a fist of flames. He sneered at her, feeling the anger that he'd been holding back in regards to her boiling dangerously to the surface. Her eyes were wide, yet her expression knowing, as if she had _expected_ him to do something like this.

Had she_ purposely_ provoked him? Surely, the Avatar's waterbending teacher wasn't that devious.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" He spat at her, the flames dancing upon his knuckles so close that if he were to throw a weak punch her direction, she would be forced to kiss the flames. Of course, he would never do such a thing. He wouldn't burn and disfigure another human being if he could avoid it. While he may be the son of the Fire Lord, he _wasn't_ Ozai. "For me to attack you, so you can run along and tell the Avatar and the rest of your comrades that I did so. That way, you'll have some sort of validation for your displaced anger."

She didn't flinch; he had to admire her for her bravery...or perhaps she knew him better than he thought. Was she testing him? Was this some sort of _game_ to her?

"I don't need any validation," she said, glaring daggers at him. "Your betrayal in Ba Sing Se is reason enough."

He made a noise of frustration, his grip on her shoulder tightening slightly, but not enough to hurt her. "Why must you _always_ go back to that? How many times must I explain myself?"

Her blue eyes seem to narrow further, if such a thing were even possible. "No, you haven't."

The flames being bent from the former prince's clenched fist died out, his golden eyes going wide as he realized that he really _hadn't_ explained to her his reasoning for betraying her in Ba Sing Se. She had offered to heal him then, becoming one of the few people outside of his uncle to show him any sort of kindness since the disappearance of his mother. And he'd betrayed her. It seemed that was all he was doing these days: betraying one side or another, teeter-tottering on the line between good and evil, unable to choose a side--no. He _had_ chosen a side. This side, her side. He _wasn't_ an enemy anymore.

_She_ wasn't his enemy. Not anymore. No matter how much she pissed him off.

Zuko let go of her then, taking a step back to give her some distance. To give her room to flee from him if she desired. When she didn't do so, he began to speak.

"If your brother was as dark and twisted as my sister, would you stand against him and send him to his grave?"

It was obvious to Zuko that whatever Katara had been expecting him to say to start off this little explanation of his, it wasn't _that_. Her eyebrows shot up, then furrowed - not in anger, but confusion - together as she peered at him, visibly intrigued, at the least. She didn't speak, but kept her gaze upon him, as if she was waiting for him to continue.

"I couldn't let the Avatar kill my sister."

Now, she seeped back into a state of anger. "How dare you assume--"

He cut her off, "That the Avatar would kill her? Don't be foolish, waterbender. You're well aware of such a possibility. You saw what he did up at the North Pole and I _know_ that my sister could easily provoke him into the Avatar State, especially with you around."

Katara's features had gone slack some and she looked down at the ground, then to back up to him. Suddenly, she seemed uncomfortable - something that highly contrasted the image of the defiant girl who had told him to leave his own camp just moments ago. "You assume too much, Zuko."

"Do I? You didn't see the way he looked at me down in those caves. Possessively, triumphantly."

Her cheeks flared with color and Zuko could tell he'd been right, but apparently only _half_ right, as the next words out of her mouth confirmed.

"It may be that way for him," Katara said softly, "but for me..."

His golden eyes widen slightly in realization. The Avatar loved her, but she did not love him in return. Or at least, not in the way the young boy obviously wanted. She looked embarrassed and he suddenly felt bad for bringing the topic up. It seemed to make her uncomfortable, which made _him_ uncomfortable.

"Oh," he said simply.

"Yeah," was her response. She was silent for a while before saying, "No."

"...no what?"

"No, I wouldn't let Sokka get killed if he suddenly switched sides. Even if it meant he was going to possibly kill another. He's my brother."

"And Azula is my sister."

The stood in silent understanding, golden eyes looking into blue ones, and just as he opened his mouth to say more, a voice sounded in the distance.

"It's_ The_ Duke, Haru. Not just Duke. _THE_!"

It was one Zuko didn't recognize (nor did he know who this 'Haru' was), but apparently Katara did, for her calm, understanding features melted away, replaced with seriousness and a hint of anger. At least she wasn't glaring at him too intensely, so he felt it was at least _some_ sort of improvement.

"Kata--" He started, but she cut him off.

"Stay here," she commanded in an almost motherly tone. A tone that made him raise the only eyebrow he had in a mixture of annoyance and curiosity. "I'm going to lead them away. Don't follow me."

Normally, he would argue, but she didn't tell him to leave. Just to stay. Maybe that meant she was contemplating letting Avatar know he wasn't dead. Either way, he didn't want to anger her further, so he simply nodded his head and went to sit back down under his make-shift tent, watching as she disappeared into the trees.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_"Avatar: the Last Airbender" is © Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. This fic is being written for the 30 KISSES challenge community on InsaneJournal, so the chapters follow the themes listed in their userinfo's alternate column._

01/20/2008


	4. Cut Me Off, Throw Me Down

**" CHANGE OF PACE "**

_04. CHAPTER FOUR: "CUT ME OFF, THROW ME DOWN"_

He was tired of waiting.

Sitting around, waiting for some sort of sign from the waterbender that approaching the Avatar would be okay was getting him nowhere. And since when did he, the former heir apparent to the most feared nation in the world, take orders from a waterbending peasant? Oh, he tried being patient, he tried being nice, he tried being understanding, he tried listening...but none of that was getting him anywhere.

Zuko had seen them out hunting a few times when he was doing so himself. She had always spotted him before the others could lay their eyes upon his form and signaled for him to duck out of sight. He didn't understand why she was so intent on hiding him from her friends. Katara was like a raven-hawk that was far too protective of her chicks for her own good. Only, the Avatar and his friends weren't chicks, they were people who were fully capable of making up their own minds. The waterbender seemed to enjoy doing the deciding for them, even for those who were older than her like her brother and that tall earthbender with the mustache.

Sometimes, he would watch them. Zuko would position himself in a tree too high for her to spot him in or linger in the shadows where the lack of proper lighting did the job of hiding his form from her without much effort on his part. Katara was a caring individual, he noted--perhaps more caring than he originally realized. In a way, she reminded him of his own mother, but that was something Zuko wouldn't admit. Katara wasn't ready to hear such a compliment from him. Especially when she wouldn't understand it's meaning and would probably just assume he was sucking up to her.

Today, he would not be watching them from afar as he had previously done. No, today he was going to approach them. One of them. Somehow. He'd find someone in that temple who wasn't Katara and make them listen to him. He did not give up everything and leave behind the Fire Nation to sit in a forest and discuss things with Kawa as if the badger-frog was actually capable of giving the firebender his opinion.

At this rate, his great-grandfather's comet would arrive before the Avatar learned _anything_ about firebending. The Avatar _needed_ to master all four elements if there was any hope that he'd be able to take down his father. There was no way around it and Zuko was determined to contribute to that cause. He'd sooner kiss Kawa than give up on trying to reach the Avatar.

With a low grunt, the once-prince dropped to his feet to the floor of a room deep within the Western Air Temple. He rubbed at his legs, protesting with pain at him having jumped to the ground from such a height. The ceiling of this particular room rose high above him, nearly tall enough to house at least two rooms stacked atop one another. There hadn't been anything to jump onto or climb down on from the vents he'd come through, so jumping straight to the bottom had been his only option.

Stretching his limbs, he swiftly lit a flame in his palm so that he could see more of the room, for the light that filtered in through the vents was poor and hard to judge things by. Oddly enough, he seemed to have dropped himself into the temple's storage facility. There were barrels of flour stacked in one corner, fresh apples piled in another, various pots and pans strewn about in various places, and other goods that one would find in such a place.

He'd leaned over a barel of flour to inspect the white pouder when the door creaked open, causing the firebender to jump and quickly duck behind one of the barrels.

"...would you just look at those cow-sheep? They're just _begging_ me to eat them," a familiar voice sounded, though Zuko could not place it.

He looked up and saw the dead, skinned cow-sheep hanging from hooks that extended down from the ceiling and wrinkled his nose at the sight.

Next there was a scoff, then a voice that he _did_ recognize.

"They're dead, Sokka," she said and he knew that the other voice belonged to that dim-witted brother of hers. "They can't beg you to do anything."

Zuko peered out from behind the barrel at the Water Tribe siblings, listening to them bicker and resisting the urge to laugh--biting the insides of his cheeks to keep from doing so. He noticed that even though Katara responded to her brother's ramblings about the various ways to cook the tender flesh of a cow-sheep with sarcasm, she looked upon him fondly, adoringly. His own sister had never looked at him that way...not that he ever wanted her too. The thought of Azula being _fond_ of him was oddly frightening.

The sound of the door slamming resounded through the large room and Zuko stood, letting out a sigh of relief. They'd left, good. It wasn't that he minded being caught by Sokka, but that he minded being caught by _Katara_. She would have bruised his eardrums and probably other parts of his body if she found him in here, watching her and her brother.

He gave a roll of his golden eyes at the thought, moving away from the barrel and to the door, pressing his good ear against the wooden frame. He heard no sound from the other side and slowly pulled it open--just enough so that he could look left and right and make sure no one was around. Spotting no one, he slipped through the door and shut it softly behind him and began making his way down the long corridor the storage room was at the end of. The cooridor opened up to the veranda part of one of the temple's upside down towers.

Zuko moved to the edge and looked down, squinting in the sunlight. He could vaguely see the faintest splotch of blue at the bottom, hinting that there was something below--something that was probably blissfully unaware of the airbender temple above. Grimacing at the thought of someone down there finding this place, Zuko turned around.

And almost fell off the edge.

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE_!?" Katara shouted at him, reaching out a finger to poke him accusingly in the chest.

The prince wobbled a bit on his heels, partially hanging off the edge, and seized her wrist--partly to stop himself from falling and to stop _her_ from prodding him. She resisted, a disgusted look filtering in across her features as she tried to yank her arm from his grasp.

"Zuko, let go!"

"Stop moving!"

"I would if you would _let go._"

He didn't and her blue eyes narrowed as she reached out a palm and slapped it _hard_ against his chest, pushing roughly against him while trying to wrench her wrist from his fingers. This only served to lessen the prince's already unstable balance and with a shriek, he began to fall backwards. Only, the shriek didn't belong to himself--it belonged to _her_. He realized with horror that when he'd fallen, he'd pulled her along with him.

The barely-visible blue at the bottom of the gorge was growing larger and larger by the minute and Zuko slammed his eyes shut and staightened his body just as his boots came into contact with the water below. It was cold and wet and moving and threatened to pull him under deeper. He struggled against the current and pushed with all his might to the surface, treading water with increasing diffulty as his vision returned to him and he found himself floating in a rushing river.

A tree limb drifted near him and he seized it, eyes immediately falling on strands of dark hair and blood staining the bark.

_Blood_.

The waterbender!

"Katara!" He shouted, panic taking over. "Waterbender! _Katara_!"

There were trees on a small ledge just above the river. She must've hit her head on one of the branches and broke it off.

His eyes scanned the churning surface of the water, letting go of the branch without hesitation when he spotted her form on the other side of the water's expanse. Zuko struggled against the current as he tried to reach her, wishing at that moment that he was a waterbender and not a firebender--that _she_ wasn't unconcious and could use her bending abilities to save them both.

Zuko's hand found hers when he drew near, grabbing hold of it and pulling her limp body to his. He held her head above the water, laying it against his shoulder and realized a moment later that he couldn't feel her breath against his skin.

She _wasn't breathing_.

"No, no, no," he chanted, drawing her back some with both arms to peer at her, kicking fiercing with his legs to keep them both afloat. She couldn't die! That would ruin _everything_. The Avatar wouldn't believe that they'd fallen and she'd hit her head and drowned. No, they'd think that _he_ killed her.

Zuko could _never_ bring himself to kill anyone. Not even her.

It was then that he noticed the water seemed to abruptly stop just up ahead and resisted the urge to start shouting at the world for being harsh and unfair as he realized that it was a _waterfall_.

He wasn't a strong enough swimmer to get them both out of the water and there wasn't anything for him to grab onto that would help him in that feat. He might have been able to save himself if he tried hard enough, but he _refused_ to leave Katara behind. If she wasn't dead and merely unconcious--and by Agni, he _hoped_ she was--he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for sending her to her death.

Left with no other options, Zuko pulled Katara against him and held onto her tightly, his stomach flipping over and making him feel nauseated just as they began their decent down the falls. He tightened his hold on her and braced them both for the impact below, feeling a sharp sting against the skin of his arms just before he blacked out.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_"Avatar: the Last Airbender" is © Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Haretsu is not Combustion Man's name, but merely one made up for use in this fic/chapter. Also, this fic is being written for the 30 KISSES challenge community on InsaneJournal, so the chapters follow the themes listed in their userinfo's alternate column._

06/18/2008


	5. Not as Bad as it Could Be

**" CHANGE OF PACE "**

_05. CHAPTER FIVE: "NOT AS BAD AS IT COULD BE"_

Zuko woke to the feel of water rushing past his knees and an uncomfortable dampness that clung to his skin, hair, and clothes. There was something matted to his face--dark, yet lighter than his own hair when he peered at the curtain when he finally managed to open his eyes. A hand came up and he removed it, holding the soft locks between his fingers and following its length to its source: the waterbender.

He sat up abruptly, perhaps a little too quickly as his pounded in retaliation and the prince took a moment to press his fingers against his eyes in attempt to make the pain stop. After a moment, it subsided and he removed his hand and opened his eyes, looking over to Katara once more. His hand went to her shoulder and he shook her gently.

"Katara," he urged, but got no response. He shook her again, then a little more roughly when she yet again, didn't respond to his attempts. "Sages, waterbender! This isn't funny!"

Zuko crawled over to her, pressing two fingers to the tanned skin of her neck. He had to press hard and move his fingers about some, but he finally found a pulse: faint and barely there, but a sign that she was alive. Alive, but fading fast.

A wave of slight panic washed over him and he seized her shoulders, rolling her over so that she was no longer crumpled on her side, but laying flat on her back. If he hadn't been banished and spent those years aboard his uncle's ship, he never would have learned how to do this. At the moment, he was grateful for the experience, for it meant he knew what to do in order to prevent Katara from dying.

Even if she was probably going to kill him for it afterwards.

He pushed on her chest first, both hands with his fingers laced together; hard, but not enough to break her--just enough to put the right sort of pressure on her lungs that was needed. Now, came the awkward part. The fingers of one hand touched her cheek, while the other pinched her nose shut. Weary of her suddenly starting awake and using the fact that she was surrounded by her element against him, Zuko hesitantly placed his lips against hers.

It wasn't a kiss. No. Anything _but_ a kiss. He'd never kiss her. He was merely pushing air into her lungs in hopes of expelling the water trapped in them. If she were awake, he was sure she could use her talents to do this herself. But for now, this would have to do. Parting her lips with his own, he blew air into her mouth, and then retracted, returning his hands to her chest to push down upon that same spot as he'd done before.

Zuko repeated these motions several times, alternating between putting pressure on her lungs and blowing air into them. It wasn't until her blue eyes snapped open and looked into his golden ones that the technique proved successful. He grinned against her lips in satisfaction--just as she gave a muffled sort of shriek and her hands came up and shoved him away.

"Hey!" He sputtered, having been knocked back into the water, his damp clothes now soaked again. "I was saving your--"

The sight of her doubled over, fingers digging into the mud at the bank as she coughed up the water that had been lodged in her lungs silenced him. For someone who was often so angry and threatening and often directing both of those qualities at him, she looked awfully...vulnerable. Even still, as he caught sight of her blue eyes glaring daggers at him from beneath the curtain of her tangled, unbound hair.

Zuko looked away and turned so that his back was to her, giving her some privacy. He listened to her cough some more, then growing impatient, stepped out of the water he'd been sitting in at the shore, and moved onto the much drier ground past the bank where the water didn't dampen the earth.

His fingers hooked around the fabric at his waist that kept his tunic in place, tugging at the ties and--

"What are you doing?" Katara's voice asked, a little hoarse from coughing.

He turned to her, finding her standing slightly to his left. "My clothes are wet. I'm going to wring them dry," he told her, then started working at the sash again, only to be stopped yet again by her voice.

"Let me do it."

"What?!" He turned to her, thinking the opposite of what her raised arms and flat palms indicated she was doing. With a fluid, wave-like motion of her hands and arms, she drew the water out of his clothes and hair with her bending, directing the stream of water back to the river.

Zuko blinked and patted his now-dry clothes and looked up at her. "Thanks."

"Whatever," she spat, her foul disposition back in place as she stomped past him.

His eyes narrowed and glared at her back. "I was just being polite. Where are you going?"

Katara halted, whirled, and pointed to the top of the cliffs. "Back to the temple. _Don't_ follow me."

"Hey!" Zuko held up both hands. "I just saved your life! _Twice_. And--"

She cut him off. "I didn't ask for your help, Zuko!"

"No, you didn't. But, you needed it. Even if you do piss me off to the point where I'd do just about _anything_ to get you to stop chastising me, I wasn't going to let you die. Regardless of what you might think of me, I don't walk away when someone really needs help."

He thought briefly of that little boy back in the Earth Kingdom who'd adored him and looked up to him until he found out the mysterious sword-wielding stranger was actually the Fire Lord's banished son. Those thoughts were quickly shoved aside, however, as he noticed a sudden change in Katara's expression.

She looked at him oddly, in a way that seemed strange and unnerving, coming from her. The waterbender still looked upset, but no longer hostile and unapproachable. And after a few moments of silence, she said softly: "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Much to his surprise, she didn't retort with _whatever_ or _consider yourself lucky_ or any of the other things he would've expected her to say at this point. Then again, Zuko really didn't know her all that well. Certain aspects, yes, but not Katara in her entirety. Not that he wanted to.

The older boy sighed heavily and turned, gesturing with one arm for her to follow. "Come on."

"Uh, Zuko?"

"What?" He stopped and looked over his shoulder at her.

She was pointing again. "The temple's that way."

For a moment, he had to bite his cheeks to keep from grinning in amusement. "The temple's on the other side of the river. We'll need to cross it first."

"...oh."

Zuko started walking again.

"Zuko?"

He whirled, now a little annoyed. "What?"

Katara had a brow arched at him and shook her head, gesturing with the hand she'd been pointing with to the water. "Waterbender, remember?"

Zuko opened his mouth, but she didn't leave him room to protest or agree, as she stepped up to the river and with what looked like shooing motion, froze part of the water into a makeshift bridge. She seemed proud of this and walked over it, standing on the other side and looking at him impatiently.

"Show off," the prince murmured under his breath and crossed the bridge, walking across the ice without loosing his footing. He noted that she watched him, as if she expected him to, and rolled her eyes when he stepped onto the soil as if disappointed that he didn't.

He started walking into the jungle and heard her soft footsteps following him and a faint, angry sort of mutter as she ranted silently to herself. Probably about being stuck here with him. It wasn't like he was too thrilled about having to climb the cliffs back to the temple with her, either.

There was a noise to their right and he stopped, Katara slamming into his back and grabbing his arms for support. She pushed him away. "Don't sto--"

Zuko had a hand over her mouth before she was able to finish that sentence, looking around them to make sure no one had spotted them. Realizing what he heard must've just been an animal, he looked back to her--and promptly ripped his hand from her mouth.

"Did you just _lick_ my hand!?" He wiped his palm on his pants. "That's gross, waterbender."

Katara was rubbing her mouth with back of her hand. "Show's you," she said and he didn't envy her brother at all for growing up with her. "And I thought we were over this. My name is--"

"Katara," he said shortly. "I know. Just...don't do that again."

"Do what?"

"Lick me."

Her cheeks turned a fascinating shade of pink and Zuko replayed that phrase in his head and realized how _wrong_ it sounded. That only served to remind him of the feel of her still lips against his as he blew air from his lungs into her mouth, making the air around him seem thicker than it was.

"That's not what I meant!" He clarified. "Don't lick my _hand_."

She glared at him, crossed her arms, and stuck her nose in the air as she brushed past him, roughly pushing his shoulder with hers. The prince couldn't hold back the frustrated noise that escaped his lips at this.

"Are you coming?" Katara was a few feet ahead of him now.

Suppressing a second groan, Zuko followed. His eyes lifted to what he could see of the cliffs between the thick cloud of branches and leaves. It was going to take them at least two days to climb back up there without the use of his war balloon or the Avatar's flying bison.

"Hurry up!" She snapped.

"Girls are _crazy_," he muttered to himself and jogged to catch up with her.

It was going to be a _long_ two days.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_"Avatar: the Last Airbender" is © Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. This fic is being written for the 30 KISSES challenge community on InsaneJournal, so the chapters follow the themes listed in their userinfo's alternate column._

08/05/2008


	6. As the Hour Met the Minute Hand

**" CHANGE OF PACE "**

_06: "AS THE HOUR MET THE MINUTE HAND"_

"My hair's bleeding."

Zuko stopped and turned her, a bit puzzled. He'd been leading the way, finally. It took arguing with her for a good twenty minutes about not knowing anything about the wildlife or vegetation in this area, not to mention her lack of a properly formed plan, to get her to agree to follow him. He'd almost stormed away from her. Twice. The thought of her alone in the jungle, albeit adept at protecting herself, didn't sit right with him and compelled him to stay.

The jungle was thicker now, the branches and leaves of the canopy entwining together to form a thick, green blanket that blotted out the sun in some areas and made it appear as if it were dusk instead of noon. He knew it wasn't evening, though. He could feel the sun sitting high in the middle of the sky, even underneath all these trees.

At least Katara stayed quiet. For the most part. He wasn't too fond of chatty travel companions.

"Hair doesn't bleed," he told her.

Katara's eyes narrowed and she held out a hand for him to inspect. There was blood on her fingers.

"I meant," she clarified, "that I'm bleeding. _In_ my hair."

He remembered, now. The branch, the blood in the water and on it. It had been the reason, more than the fall itself, that Katara had nearly drowned. If Zuko hadn't woken up when he did and taken notice of her motionless form, she would have. And all chances of him ever joining up with the Avatar would have vanished. Surely, if the young boy found him alive after Katara's death and somehow learned he'd been around the temple and in contact with her this whole time...the blame would have been placed on him.

"You hit your head on a branch."

She sighed. "Figures."

"...figures?"

Katara didn't answer him, brushing past him--though without the force she'd used in the hours before--and strayed from the hunting trails into the denser part of the forest. She pushed back a larger leaf of a banana-plum tree and made a triumphant noise of, _ah-ha_!

Zuko stood watching her. "What are you doing?"

She turned and he understood. Water covered one hand like an invisible glove--she'd found a water source, more than likely rain water sitting on the up-turned leaf of the banana-plum tree or something on the other side of it. Katara emerged fully, returning to the path, and kneeled down before him.

Confused once more, Zuko blinked down at her. His male mind was, yet again, coming to a conclusion it really shouldn't have been. Being seventeen, male, and around a girl who did the _strangest_ things without warning was _not_ helping. "Uh..."

Katara scoffed in annoyance, as if he was supposed to somehow know what she wanted him to do. She held the hand that was coated in water up. "Find the cut and put my hand on it so I can heal it."

Oh. Right. She was going to heal herself. That...made much more sense. Find the wound. He could do that.

Bending over some, Zuko put his hands in Katara's hair, moving her tangled locks this way and that, to expose the wound more so she'd have better access to it. He heard her suck air in sharply between her teeth and stopped, but she urged him to finish. Quickly, he did, and took hold of her wrist, guiding that hand to the gash, which looked pretty nasty.

He watched in amazement as the water glowed a pure blue, unlike any other shade he'd ever seen. This was how she did it. How she healed. If the Avatar and his uncle hadn't broken into the caverns so soon, this was what would've happened to him. For a moment, he wondered what would've happened if she'd gotten the chance to free him of his mark.

"Did I get it all?" She asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Zuko brought his face closer, moving her hand away by the wrist so that he could get a better look at her handiwork. She hadn't healed herself right away, so there was some faint scarring, but the wound was completely gone. It looked as if she'd received it years ago, not hours.

"Yeah, you did."

"Zuko?"

"Hm?"

"Let go of my wrist."

He hadn't realized he was still holding it, letting go and taking a step back. Zuko watched her as she put her hands in her hair to feel the repaired skin and rearrange her hair into something more manageable. She looked annoyed and he imagined she was miffed about loosing her hair ties in the rushing water that had almost claimed her life.

Without really thinking about it, Zuko bent and seized the hem of his tunic and with a sudden ripping sound that made Katara jump, tore off a thin section of fabric. He held it out to her.

"I healed my head, Zuko. I don't need to bandage it."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "It's not for your head. It's for your hair."

Realization filtered across her features and hesitating for a moment, watching him as if his offer was some sort of trap she was about to spring, took the strip of cloth from his hand. He watched as she gathered her hair, running her fingers through it in attempt to vanquish the tangles, then plaited it into the sloppiest braid he'd ever seen--a thought he decided wasn't best to share with her.

Katara tied the braid off at the end with the cloth strip from Zuko's tunic, pushing the braid back over her shoulder. She regarded him strangely then said, "...thanks."

"Don't mention it."

She gestured for him to lead the way again and was a bit surprised to find that she was walking next to him instead of behind him. He didn't mind, but he didn't know what to say or do when she was being civil. At least when she was tossing insults at him, he knew how to respond.

"You told me that you didn't want your sister to die in Ba Sing Se," she began. He looked over at her questioningly. "Say that you do join up with us--which is a _maybe_. I haven't made up my mind on that."

_Her_ mind? Since when was she in charge of the Avatar's group? Wasn't it the tattooed boy who decided who could and could not be a part of his forces and not this bratty girl who he couldn't seem to get rid of? Who was she to dictate any of that?

Zuko snorted, but she seemingly chose to ignore that.

"If you come up against Azula again. Will you fight her or turn on m--_us_ again?"

He stopped walking. Zuko...hadn't thought about that. Facing Azula again. He thought back to Ember Island, the first time since childhood in which Azula had acted like something resembling a sister instead of a superior. For the first time in years, he hadn't felt like challenging her or trying to be better in order to show off for an invisible audience. But, perhaps he'd been too blinded by his own romantic troubles with Mai and the anger he felt towards himself and his mistakes to see that Azula was still the same as ever. Only more subtler, since she had made the decision not to tell those idiots, Chan and Ruon-Jian, that they were the Prince and Princess of the Fire Nation.

While he pondered it, Katara continued talking.

"...I understand that she's your sister and you don't want her to die, but if you're going to fight with us, I--_we_ need to know that you're not going to turn on us again."

_We_. He caught that andd his good eyebrow shot up in interest.

"What are you saying?"

Katara huffed and crossed her arms. "It's just a question, Zuko."

For the moment, he chose not to answer her, even though he _did_ have one. Instead, he smirked at her and declared, "Now you're the one who doesn't know what she wants."

Her jaw dropped, but she quickly recovered. "What? I know what I want! I want this war to be over! I want--"

Zuko cut her off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "That's not what I meant. You don't know if you want me." Katara's cheeks flared and he realized how that must've sounded and found himself waving both of his hands in front of him and chanting, "Not like that! Not like _that_." He sighed. "In your _group_. You don't know if you want me to be a part of your group. The Avatar's forces. The...gang or whatever."

"Team Avatar," she corrected, the color still apparent on her cheeks. This seemed to annoy her, even more so by his staring--he hadn't meant to stare and quickly averted his eyes.

"Team Avatar," he echoed with a nod, feeling awkward once more. It was that awkwardness that had filled the air when she told him she didn't care for the Avatar in the way the young boy did, when he pressed his lips to hers in a kiss that wasn't a kiss just hours earlier, and when she'd touched his scar down in those caverns in Ba Sing Se. This waterbender, with as much as she pissed him off and made him want to indulge in the temper he had worked so hard at keeping under control, _somehow_ had the ability to make him feel as if a thousand pairs of eyes were watching him, even though there was no one else--

There was a crinkling of leaves and without giving Katara any sort of warning, Zuko seized her to him and she tumbled into the bushes with him. The two fell awkwardly, the prince's usual grace hampered by the struggling waterbender in his grasp. She managed to knee him in the side, but he quickly grabbed hold of her hands and flipped them both about, so that he was now holding her arms at her side and pinning her legs with his own.

"What--Zuko, _get off_! Let me go!"

"Quiet!" He told her. "There's someone nearby."

Katara's eyes narrowed with doubt and she blew loose strands of hair out of her eyes. "I highly doubt--"

This time, it was the waterbender's time to be silenced, as a giggle that sounded oddly familiar to Zuko's ears sounded from the trail. Pushing himself up, he looked over and froze at what his eyes landed upon, jumping off Katara so quickly it made the younger girl yelp in surprise.

"What are you doing out here, Lee?"

"Lee?" Katara echoed in question, sitting up.

Before the pair stood someone Zuko thought he'd never see again outside of Ba Sing Se--and after he helped Azula take down Aang and imprison his uncle, he swore he'd never willing return to that awful, walled city. Yet, here stood someone who had, for a brief time, been the object of his affections. He'd gone on a date with her once, shortly before he was reminded in the harshest way possible that he wasn't an ordinary teenage boy like she thought, but the banished crown prince of the Fire Nation. She didn't know that, of course, and he struggled for an answer to her question.

Jin seemed to find this amusing and laughed behind a hand she held to her face, fingers outward and curled in towards her palm in a move that Zuko found to be more girly than was necessary. "Who's your friend? Someone from the circus again?"

"Circus!?" Came Katara's outrage, and Zuko shouted, "Yes!" before the waterbender had time to protest further. She glared at him, but he ignored her.

Jin looked on with interest, leaning over a bush to eye Katara with those big, gray eyes of hers. "Another knife thrower?"

In a quick decision that he should've thought about more carefully before opening his mouth, he shoved his sheathed swords into Katara's hands and declared, "She's the sword-swallower."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_"Avatar: the Last Airbender" is © Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Also, this fic is being written for the 30 KISSES challenge community on InsaneJournal, so the chapters follow the themes listed in their userinfo's alternate column. The previous chapter was perhaps my shortest and **worst** for this fic, but it was a necessary to end it there, in order to fit the themes for the challenge this is being written for. Hopefully the length and quality of this chapter makes up for the epic fail of the former._

08/13/2008


End file.
